Page 155 of Faking the Goal

He opens the refrigerator, pulls out more ingredients, and starts preparing another batch of ramen, the grunts coming from him every few seconds growing noticeably louder the longer his teammates keep running their mouths.

And just like that, the Kentaro I know is back.

Scowling. Grunting. Pretending none of this is getting to him even though the clipped movements and irritated muttering give him away, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

Liam eventually wanders over and drops an arm around my shoulders.

"Welcome to the family, T." He nods toward Kentaro, who's chopping scallions with considerably more force than scallions deserve. "It's mostly just us making fun of him until he tries to kill us. You'll fit right in."

I laugh, loud and genuine, while Kentaro mutters something else under his breath.

A little while later, the five of us are spread around the kitchen island with bowls of ramen in front of us, the twins and Cody finally too busy eating to torment Kentaro every five seconds.

Liam is halfway through another bite when he glances down at his bowl and says, quieter than before, "I wonder how Zach's doing."

The change in his voice makes the rest of us look up.

Luke's expression loses its usual mischief almost immediately. "Yeah. I've been thinking about him too." He sets his chopsticks down. "We should probably stop by later before we head home. Even if it's just for a little while."

My brows pull together.

"What happened to Zach?"

Kentaro looks at me. "His sister, Sam, was taken to the hospital a few days ago."

My stomach tightens. "What? Why?"

Cody answers this time, his voice subdued. "She has cancer. And from what Zach told us... it doesn't sound good."

"Oh my God." The words slip out before I can stop them. "That's awful. I didn't even know she was sick."

"Neither did most people," Liam says. "Apparently she had cancer before and beat it, but it came back." He shakes his head, staring down at the broth in front of him. "She's been through way too much shit for someone her age."

The easy noise that filled the kitchen a few minutes ago is gone now. No one's laughing. Even Luke, who seems physically incapable of staying serious for longer than thirty seconds, is quiet.

Cody glances around at the others. "Has anyone gotten ahold of Cap yet?"

They all shake their heads.

"Still nothing," Luke says. "His phone's going straight to voicemail."

Kentaro's jaw tightens. "I tried again this morning."

"And?"

"Nothing."

Cody exhales through his nose. "Fuck."

I look between them. "Elijah doesn't know?"

"Not that we know of," Cody says. "And that's what's worrying us."

The silence that follows feels heavier than the one before.

"Yeah," Liam says quietly. "Especially with how hard Cap's been trying to fix things with Sam. He's been doing everything he can to win her back." He shakes his head. "Finding out she has cancer, and that it's this serious? Fuck. I don't even know how he's going to handle that."

Cody exhales heavily. "Which is why somebody needs to get ahold of him before he hears about it from someone else."